Before It's Too Late
by BatTitan
Summary: "How could she have let things get this far? This wasn't her. Something was fundamentally messed up, something was...different. She didn't know what it was, but it terrified her that she kept drawing blanks every time she tried to figure out what was wrong. Why couldn't she remember?" Sequel to Catch Me Now.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**_The Road So Far:_**

_I'm falling, and there's no end in sight._

_It's almost peaceful, except that I know instinctively that there's an end. There always is. And it always ends with a loud and obnoxious _SPLAT.

_I guess I should count my lucky stars because the splat never comes, but it's still a little weird to find myself plummeting into darkness. I find myself wishing someone would catch me, but it doesn't happen. I keep falling down, down, down..._

* * *

_Okay, I've read fanfictions about this. People fall out of their world and drop into their favorite T.V. show._

* * *

_"Castiel, do you remember Ariel?" Before Castiel can raise an eyebrow and point at me, Gabriel adds, "Our sister."_

_"Yes. The youngest archangel. She was cast down by Michael when she-" Castiel breaks off suddenly, looking at me as if he's seeing me for the first time. "In Father's name," he murmurs, stunned._

_"What?" I shuffle uncomfortably under his gaze. "You think I'm some archangel who disappeared ages ago?"_

_"More like I know you are." Gabriel smiles humorlessly. "You came to me when Michael cast you down. You begged me for help because Michael had called for your death for treason. I sent you to that other universe to protect you."_

* * *

_"What happened?"_

_"I think I remembered." My head is killing me, crammed to the largest capacity with all the memories it can hold._

_"Remembered what? Being an archangel?"_

_"Everything." I shake my head, but it just makes my headache worse. "Is Gabriel okay?" Sam falters, his hands retracting slightly from my shoulders, and my heart stops. "He...he made it out, didn't he?"_

_Sam swallows and my frozen heart now sinks in dread. "I'm sorry, Ariel."_

* * *

_"So we're really doing this, then. We're putting Lucifer back in the Cage." Sam reclines on the hood of the Impala with Ariel perched beside him carefully. She and Dean had finally caved and told Sam what exactly they had agreed to with Death._

_"Looks like. Not that I like this idea any more than I did before."_

_Sam ruffles her hair affectionately even as he sips his beer, smiling faintly. "It'll be okay, Air."_

* * *

_"Let me go, Raphael, I have to stop them!" She struggles, but the chains are too strong and she collapses again._

_"You can't stop the Apocalypse."_

_"I can stop our brothers from tearing each other to pieces!" she snaps back. "Let me _go_, Raph!"_

_"Don't call me that." His expression closes off even more, and she's sure he's not going to be of any help to her. "I have other plans for you, anyway."_

_Ariel's hazel eyes flicker up to his dark, emotionless ones, and she can't stop a shiver from running down her spine as she shuts her eyes._

* * *

_"He's gone," he whispers bleakly, his words garbled. Ariel doesn't hesitate to place her hand gently against his cheek, healing him with one quick burst of energy. "Sammy's gone," Dean repeats again, his voice clearer now even as it quivers. Both of his eyes are open and tear-filled. "Took control of Lucifer and threw himself and Michael into the Cage."_

_"Oh, Dean." She drops to her knees beside him and pulls him into a hug, and he practically collapses against her, his face pressed against her shoulder as he shakes with silent sobs. She doesn't protest to the feeling of dampness growing on her shoulder, choosing instead to hush him quietly and rub his back even as she holds back her own tears. Her brothers are gone, lost to the Cage, and her best friend with them. Bobby and Castiel are dead, and Dean is a broken mess._

_A hand, firm and warm, rests on her back, and she pulls away from Dean to look up, her eyes widening as she breathes in relief, "Cas."_

* * *

_"Hello, Samandriel." Ariel cracks a smile at last at the sight of one of her fledglings._

_Samandriel flushes pink at the acknowledgment - he had always been very shy - before drawing his angel blade and lifting it in the air. "I pledge to follow you, sister." Another familiar face, Inias, follows his lead, lifting his own blade. Soon, the air is glinting with several polished angel blades as every angel in the crowd wordlessly pledges their loyalty._

_Ariel can't stop a wide smile from spreading across her face as she looks at the solemn faces of her siblings. "I accept your loyalty. Thank you."_

* * *

_Ariel arrives in a small corner of Heaven, one that a particular soul inhabits, and sits patiently on the park bench to wait. It's not long before the soul she's waiting for arrives._

_"Ariel?!" She smiles faintly and gets to her feet again, crossing the distance between them and cupping his face in her hands gently._

_"Hello, Adam. I've missed you."_

* * *

_**Now:**_

How could she have let things get this far? Castiel had ingested thousands of souls, the wall in Sam's head had broken and he was on the verge of a mental collapse, and Ariel hadn't even done anything to prevent any of it.

This wasn't her. Something was fundamentally messed up, something was..._different_. She didn't know what it was, but it terrified her that she kept drawing blanks every time she tried to figure out what was wrong.

Why couldn't she _remember_?

* * *

**And there's the first chapter. I know it's short and mostly a recap, but this is more of a teaser for the sequel than an actual first chapter. Hopefully, this won't be a complete recap of Season 6, but I may or may not go through a couple of episodes every now and then.**

**Enjoy, and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**_One Year Ago:_**

Heaven was quiet in the first few weeks after the almost-Apocalypse. Ariel supposed that should have been her first clue that trouble was approaching, and _fast_. But she remained content with visiting Adam every now and then, and assessing the damage done to Heaven while she had been gone. She even found her archangel blade again from when Michael had confiscated it. She spent the rest of her time researching on how to rescue someone from the Cage without unleashing every other inhabitant there.

She had promised Dean that she wouldn't give up on Sam, after all.

Speaking of Dean, he prayed to her often, just little tidbits on how life with Lisa and her son, Ben, was going. He didn't sound good, but then Ariel supposed he wouldn't be coping well at all. He'd lost Sam, the only reason he'd kept going all these years, and she doubted he'd be okay almost instantly. Still, his nightmares lessened as the weeks passed, and he prayed to her less frequently as time went on. She didn't mind, of course; he was moving on, and she had work to do as well. It was mutually beneficial for them both.

Ariel's peace came to an end about a month after Sam had jumped into the Cage.

* * *

She was on her way to meet Castiel in his favorite Heaven. It was nice and peaceful there, and no one ever disturbed either her or Castiel there. That was when she was attacked from behind, two angels tackling her from behind. Normally, she would have been able to fend them off easily, but she was taken off-guard and in that time, they managed to transport her to a Heaven she knew very well. It was Raphael's Heaven, a cold office with stiff leather armchairs, one of which Raphael himself occupied.

"Hello, Ariel."

"Took you long enough to contact me," she grumbled as the angels released her, rubbing at her arm absently even though there wasn't any pain.

"Yes, well, I had to first be sure I knew which angels were on my side and which were on yours."

"So Heaven _did_ split between the two of us," she noted, "Why?"

"The Apocalypse, Ariel. It was meant to happen, and you stopped it," he answered.

"The Earth would've been destroyed," she protested, "Of course I didn't want it to happen."

"Maybe it was meant to be."

"What're you saying, that you're gonna try to restart the Apocalypse?" Ariel snapped back.

"If I have to." Raphael raised an eyebrow as he got to his feet smoothly. "Will you stop me?"

"If I have to," she echoed, grimacing at the thought. "I don't want to fight, Raphael. I know you don't, either."

"Because you know me so well, don't you?" The words were harsh and cut into her like a knife. "I think you forfeited the right to claim any knowledge of me when you left our home like Lucifer did."

"We aren't Michael and Lucifer," Ariel protested desperately, "We can work this out."

"No, we aren't like them. Because I will succeed where Michael failed." Raphael's eyes were cold and the meaning of the statement only hit Ariel moments later.

"You...you don't mean that." She took a step back all the same, fear clenching in her gut suddenly. "I'm your sister, Raph, you can't-"

"You stopped being my sister the day you _betrayed_ us for a mere chance to speak to Lucifer!" It was the first time his voice rose, and she flinched at the raw anger in his tone.

"I'm sorry," she pleaded, feeling the corners of her eyes sting. She couldn't cry, she _wouldn't_. "If I could take it back, I would, _please_-"

"Don't beg for mercy, not now that the damage is done." Raphael's jaw clenched. "You don't have my forgiveness, Ariel, and you never will. You will be destroyed if you choose to stand in my way, but you may still stand down, if you wish."

"And when have I ever been a doormat to anyone?" she retorted, swallowing back the lump in her throat. "You know me better than that."

"I do." He surveyed her calmly.

"I don't want to fight you." Her voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "But I can't let you start the Apocalypse, not again."

"So it is war between us, then."

"Raphael-" Before Ariel could continue, before she could plead once more for him to reconsider, her head snapped sideways with the force of his blow. She crumpled to the floor, blood welling up in her mouth, and she spat it out, grimacing at the iron taste as she attempted to regain her footing. Raphael's blade came slashing down and she managed to dodge it, but not before it created a large gash across her ribcage. "Stop it!" she begged, trying to breathe through the pain, "Please, I don't want to fight you!"

"You brought this on yourself, Ariel, and now you reap the consequences of betrayal." He shoved her again and she scrambled backwards, disappearing to the meadow Castiel had claimed as his personal Heaven. If he was around, he could at least deter Raphael from engaging her in combat.

Unfortunately, Raphael followed her to the meadow, throwing another punch directly at her ribs. She could feel some of the bones snap. Winded, she collapsed to the ground, coughing up more blood into the grass beneath her.

"Raph, I'm so sorry," she rasped as he pulled her up by her hair, his blade poised at her throat. "Please, brother, I-"

"Do _not_ call me 'brother,'" he snarled and raised the blade, preparing to strike.

"_Raphael_." Never had Ariel been more relieved to hear Castiel's voice. "Let her go."

Raphael dropped her back to the ground and she let herself lie on the cool grass, trying not to think about the crushing pain in her abdomen. "Castiel, always running to your caretaker's aid. Well, no more. Your little rebellion will be crushed, and the Apocalypse will recommence." He vanished with a flap of his bronze wings and Ariel spat out a mouthful of blood onto the grass with a groan.

"Ariel?" Castiel's hands were on her shoulders, pulling her up carefully, and she sucked in a sharp breath as it agitated her broken ribs. Tears that had nothing to do with the pain streamed down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," Castiel murmured, reaching up to wipe the tears away.

"He wouldn't listen," Ariel said weakly, "I begged him, Cas. I begged him to stop and he still wouldn't-" Another jolt of agony flared through her ribs and she curled in on herself, grimacing.

"It's all right. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary and then we can plan out our strategy." Castiel carefully helped her to her feet and she leaned heavily on him. With a flap of his dark wings, they were in the infirmary, Ariel lowering herself carefully onto an empty bed. Castiel pulled down a paste from one of the shelves, passing it to Ariel. Absently, she read the label: arnica, comfrey, and turmeric.

She snorted humorlessly and Castiel gave her an odd look. "It's just...I used this same paste to heal Gabriel's broken wing once. It was the first balm I'd ever helped make." She trailed her fingers over the lid before unscrewing it and carefully lifting her shirt to apply it to the gash across her abdomen, which shone with leaking Grace.

Castiel remained on alert, glancing around the infirmary at the other occupants. Several angels were all over the place, being treated for some injury or the other. None of them took notice of Ariel, and he made sure it stayed that way.

"I'm good." Castiel accepted the container back from Ariel and helped her stand. She winced and he frowned.

"Perhaps you should rest more."

"Cas, I'm okay, I don't need-" Ariel broke off with a sharp hiss of pain and he nodded decisively.

"You're going to rest. I'll leave you with Adam, if you wish."

Grudgingly, Ariel nodded. "Yeah, take me over to his Heaven." Castiel nodded and took her hand. Ariel attempted to make the journey this time, but she couldn't even lift her wings without agony flaring across her chest, so Castiel initiated the trip. With a flap of his wings, they were in the park that made up part of Adam's Heaven. "He'll be around eventually," Ariel said as she leaned against a tree, "Just leave me here. I'll come over to the meadow when I'm better."

"And not before then," Castiel warned and she raised her hands in defeat.

"Yeah, whatever, Mom." He narrowed his eyes at her and she grinned back wryly. "What can I say? Some human things never fade." She reached up weakly to ruffle his hair. "I'm good, Cas. Watch your back, though, Raphael will be gunning for you next." He nodded reluctantly and disappeared again.

"Ariel?!" Adam was on the other side of the park, but he crossed the distance between them in seconds, his eyes wide as they raked over her and took in her injuries. "Oh my God, what happened to you?"

"Raphael declared war on me." She tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "Help me sit down?" Adam wrapped an arm around her waist carefully, lowering her to the grass before sitting down next to her.

"You're telling me Raphael kicked the crap out of you?"

"Knifed me, too, before Castiel got there." She tried to sound casual about it.

"Ariel-"

"Adam, I'm okay. Just give me a little time and I'll be good as new." She managed a real smile this time at his concern. "You know, you're getting awfully worried over someone you've barely known until recently."

"Shut up," he muttered and kissed her forehead. "You did save my life. Or soul. Whatever."

"Please, the only reason I did was so I could do this for the rest of eternity." She leaned up just as he leaned down, knowing what she would do, and their lips pressed together at the same time.

"Selfish," he mumbled against her mouth before pulling back with a grin, showing that he was only joking.

"Damn right I am," she replied with a smile of her own, kissing his cheek before settling back against his chest. They watched the children in the playground of Adam's memory squealing and running around for a while, Adam every now and then pressing a kiss into Ariel's hair as she let her fingers curl around his. Despite the bruises and broken ribs and cuts littering her body, she felt warm and safe.

Raphael and his war could wait just a little longer. Things were just fine the way they were.

* * *

She really shouldn't have jinxed it. The next day, she called together her side of Heaven, including Castiel. Castiel hadn't arrived yet, but the other angels who had come were far more animated than they had been since she had come home when she announced that Raphael was declaring a civil war on her. It disturbed Ariel how simple it was for angels to understand war, but not her reluctance to fight.

"I don't understand," Rachel said a few hours later as Ariel pored over a map of defensive strategies they had laid out earlier. She had dismissed most of the other angels, leaving only her and Rachel, Castiel's appointed lieutenant, to wait for Castiel to arrive. "Why don't you want to fight?"

"Rachel, we're siblings. We were never meant to fight each other - or fight at all, for that matter. We were raised to be guardians, not soldiers." Ariel looked up with a wry smile. "I guess I've been away from home a little too long, though. Things have changed."

Rachel nodded. "Not all for the better."

"Yeah, I'll agree with that." Castiel arrived behind Ariel, peering over her shoulder at the map, and she raised an eyebrow at his disheveled form. "Where the hell have _you_ been?"

"I had an errand to run," he said offhandedly. She was tempted to question him further, but before she could, he quickly asked, "Have we got a strategy?"

"Yeah, wait for Raphael to make the first move. I still want us to sort things out, but if he attacks, we've got no choice but to retaliate and kick off the civil war," Ariel sighed wearily before frowning at Castiel when he swayed slightly on his feet. "Uhh, you sure you're okay?"

"Yes." He grimaced. "I'm just...tired from my errand, that's all."

She blinked, debating between interrogating him on what he was doing and letting him rest. The latter won out, thanks to her protective instincts. "Um, yeah, okay, that's fine. Go ahead and rest, I'll catch you up later." Castiel nodded and with a flutter of wings, he was gone again. "Does he seem a little off to you?" she asked Rachel curiously.

The other angel looked pensive, but shrugged. "Castiel's always been odd from the start."

Ariel wasn't convinced, though. "Not odd enough to be evasive."

Rachel frowned. "You don't think he's working for Raphael, do you?"

"What? No!" Ariel's eyebrows rose in surprise at the very thought. "Cas wants Raphael stopped just as much as we do, he wouldn't be on Raphael's side. He helped stop the Apocalypse, remember?" Rachel ducked her head, ashamed for the suggestion. "I get it, you were just thinking of all the possibilities. I'm telling you, though, Castiel wouldn't betray us. He's too loyal for that, to both the cause and me."

Rachel didn't look mollified by the assertion, but she nodded all the same, not daring to argue. Ariel only wished she was as confident as she sounded.

* * *

**We all know what Castiel was doing, the sneaky little angel that he is...**

**This chapter was obscenely short, and I really have no excuse other than writer's block. Hmm. Longer and less chapters? Or short (like this one) and more chapters? Your call, guys.**

**On that note, I can guarantee that this will be the last chapter for a while because college has officially started and this semester is bound to be my busiest yet. I'll do my best to crank out one or two more chapters before the workload actually sets in, but I'm pretty sure writer's block will also get in the way.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter in the meantime and bear with me while I study! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter** **3**

* * *

"You really think this will work?" Adam asked skeptically. "I mean, waiting around until Raphael attacks you doesn't really seem very...y'know, proactive."

"I'm not _trying_ to be proactive," Ariel reminded him wearily. "I don't even want a war in the first place. The only reason I'll fight is if Raphael instigates it." She and Adam were sitting in his Heaven contentedly, this time in an ice cream parlor (he'd blushed and mumbled something about his first date being here, and Ariel had been too amused to be jealous). She was now nibbling on the edge of her waffle cone absently, having finished most of her mint chocolate chip ice cream, while Adam was spooning some of a sundae into his mouth.

"I just think it'll end up with you getting hurt," he pointed out.

She shrugged. "I'll be okay. I'm sneaky."

He snorted. "Air, you're as subtle as a neon sign. I don't even think you know _how_ to sneak." She huffed, annoyed, and he grinned, nudging her foot with his own. "I'm kidding." Feigning irritation, she turned her head away pointedly. "Aw, come on, Ariel, I'm sorry." When she didn't turn around, she felt something cold touch her cheek and yelped, turning back to face him as she felt sticky vanilla ice cream trickling down her cheek. Adam had apparently scooped a little onto his finger and smeared it against her cheek.

"Oh, _that's_ mature." She squished the remnants of her cone against his cheek in return, leaving a smudge of green ice cream on his face.

He rolled his eyes. "Y'know, for someone scolding me about not acting maturely, you're not being very mature yourself." He wiped his face with a napkin before getting the vanilla ice cream off Ariel's face for her before she could snap it away. She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned before kissing the corner of her mouth. Unable to keep from smiling, she turned to catch his lips with her own in a soft kiss.

* * *

It wasn't a war so much as random attacks on each other at any given time. Angels would ambush each other and catch their victims off-guard, and casualties piled up almost on a daily basis. Ariel herself was the target of a few attacks, but she was surprised at how easily she was left alone more often than not. Still, she only used it to her advantage, joining Castiel and Rachel in meetings to plan defensive strategies while still attempting to keep up with Adam on the side.

As time went on, her visits became less frequent, but Adam understood, so she focused her full attention on keeping her family alive and in one piece. The latter wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Every day, another angel would change sides, another angel would want to quit the war completely, another angel would fall in battle. It broke Ariel's heart whenever she saw wing marks scorched into the ground, which was far more often than she would have liked it to be. She still went to Adam's Heaven once in a while to fill him in on what was happening in Heaven.

A year passed like this, and Ariel and Raphael never came face to face since that initial meeting. She thought it was weird that he didn't seek her out, but didn't question it. Maybe it was better that way. She didn't want to let her emotions overwhelm her like they had the first time she and Raphael had fought.

* * *

Ever since Sam had come back, Dean was wary of him. He was different somehow, and it was _weird_. He didn't even think Sam realized he'd noticed, because he kept going about his business like a freaking robot. At least that was how Dean saw it. It wasn't all that was wrong with Sam, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what the problem was, exactly.

He'd tried calling for Castiel or Ariel as soon as Sam had turned up, but neither angel came. He'd expected that from Castiel, but Ariel had always answered his prayers at the beginning of the year with Lisa, often dropping by whenever Dean was alone and just talking with him for hours. She'd even told him a little of what was happening in Heaven now and then. At the time, she'd said things were peaceful, but it felt like the quiet before the storm. Their conversations had been somewhat therapeutic, though Dean would never admit it.

Then her visits whenever he prayed began waning for no apparent reason, and soon, she stopped altogether, even when he continued to call her every day. Castiel was no better, having not spoken to him since the day Sam had jumped into the Cage.

But Castiel was understandable; he'd often made it clear that he wouldn't always come if Dean called him, but Ariel was different. She _always_ came whenever Dean called, and was always willing to lend a hand if he needed help.

So why wasn't she responding now?

* * *

"Don't you think it's odd?" Castiel asked and Ariel looked up at the sound of his voice.

"What is?"

"That no prayers have come your way. You used to go to Dean's side all the time."

Ariel frowned, shrugging. "If he's been praying, I haven't heard anything. Maybe he's just moved on, doesn't need our help anymore." Castiel's forehead wrinkled slightly and she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Cas, it's not like he's gonna be dependent on us forever. Hell, he probably blames Heaven for what happened to Sam." Castiel seemed to stiffen a little at the mention of Sam and Ariel's eyes narrowed. "Cas?"

"What?" He feigned innocence instantly, but she'd already seen the slip.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you-"

"_Castiel_." Her tone was firm and he abruptly fell silent, grimacing. "What do you know about Sam?"

"He's..." Castiel chewed his lip, clearly debating whether to keep his secret or not, but before Ariel could coax it out of him, a prayer _finally_ slipped through her metaphorical radar, the voice disturbingly familiar.

_Hey, Air. Look, Dean told me you've been busy lately, but I figured you'd at least listen to me. You mind coming down here with Cas?_

She froze and Castiel looked vaguely alarmed.

"Ariel?"

"Why did I just hear Sam praying to me?" she demanded, turning on him.

She'd never seen anyone resemble the deer-in-the-headlights look more than Castiel at the moment. "I-I, uh..." He stiffened suddenly and quickly said, "Dean is calling for me as well."

She was itching for answers, but she couldn't let the Winchesters' prayers go unanswered, so she just said, "You're gonna explain this as soon as we're done with the Winchesters." She grabbed the sleeve of his coat and he barely had time to give her a disgruntled look before they disappeared.

* * *

They landed in a motel room somewhere in Easter, Pennsylvania, near the window. Ariel couldn't stop staring at the broad shoulders of the man facing away from them, wearing a stupid plaid shirt like he always did, even as Dean's eyes widened from where the elder Winchester was seated on the bed.

"They're standing right behind me, aren't they?" He even sounded the same, too. Ariel swallowed as Sam turned around, his hazel eyes softening slightly when he saw her. She wanted to say something, but no words came out.

"Hello," Castiel said first, breaking the silence.

Sam turned an incredulous look on him. "'Hello?'" he echoed before lowering his voice in a terrible impression of Castiel. "'Hello.'"

"That is the correct term?" Castiel's eyebrows furrowed, clearly not understanding Sam's mockery.

"I spent all that time trying to get through to you! Now Dean calls once, and now it's 'hello?!'" Sam snapped.

"Dean and I do share a more profound bond," Castiel conceded. Dean turned an odd shade of red.

"Oh, so you just like him better, that makes sense," Sam grumbled.

"Hey, I had a hand in dragging him down here," Ariel said, affronted.

"Yeah, and where the hell were you all that time I kept calling you?!" Dean demanded, recovering from his embarrassment, and Ariel turned to him, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"You prayed to me?"

Dean's anger faltered as he blinked, bewildered. "Wait, you didn't hear me?"

Wide-eyed, Ariel shook her head. "I haven't heard anything from you in months. I just figured you'd stopped." Her face crumpled in guilt. "Sorry."

Dean sighed as he got to his feet. "Don't give me the puppy-eyes, Air, it's okay. You probably had no signal or something."

"Yeah, probably." Ariel chewed her lip, doubting that was the case, before turning to Sam. "Did you pray to me, too? Before now?" Sam nodded tersely and she was even more disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry. I really didn't hear either of you. I don't know what went wrong."

"It's okay." Sam squeezed her shoulder lightly, and the familiar contact was enough to make Ariel smile tremulously and want to just throw her arms around him and never let go. She restrained herself, figuring they could hug all they wanted later.

"All I'm saying is that Sam went to hell for us," Dean cut in, "I mean, he really took one for the team. You remember that? And then he comes back without a clue, and you can't take five friggin' minutes to give him some answers?"

"Hey, I didn't even know until he prayed to me just now," Ariel answered, holding her hands up in surrender. "Don't take it out on me."

Castiel blinked when everyone turned to face him next. "If I had any answers, I might have responded."

"Wait, so you knew Sam was topside?" Ariel asked, raising her eyebrows. "All this time?"

Castiel might have flushed at this point, had he been human. "Yes. I felt you didn't need to be bothered by it. You were busy."

"Not _that_ busy," Ariel muttered irritably, mentally reminding herself to scold Castiel later.

"Wait, so neither of you know what brought me back?" Sam interrupted their bickering.

Castiel shook his head. "It wasn't God. No one's even _seen_ God. The whole thing remains mysterious."

"So who's been in charge of Heaven, then?" Dean prompted before automatically glancing at Ariel, who grinned sheepishly.

"I have, for at least part of Heaven, anyway. Raphael's got the other half."

"Well, look at you with your big-girl wings," Dean teased, a grin tugging at his lips at last.

Ariel rolled her eyes and punched his arm lightly. "Can it. What did you guys need, anyway?"

"Well, we wanted to know if it was you guys committing these murders," Sam said, nodding to the newspapers spread out on the table. Ariel went to survey them even as Castiel shook his head.

"It's not us. But they were committed with one of our weapons. There's only one thing that could have brought this into existence. You call it the Staff of Moses."

"_The _Staff?" Sam's eyebrows shot up.

"It was used in a dominance display against the Egyptians, as I recall," Castiel pointed out as he lifted a jar to survey its contents.

"Yeah, that one made the paper," Dean muttered sarcastically.

"But I thought the Staff turned a _river_ into blood, not one dude," Sam insisted.

"The weapon isn't being used at full capacity. I think we can rule Moses out as a suspect," Castiel answered dryly.

"Wait." Ariel looked up abruptly from the paper she was scanning. "You knew these murders were happening?"

Castiel looked a little sheepish again. "I may have heard of them."

"Is there anything else I'm unaware of?" she demanded irritably as Dean snorted.

"Man, running the joint really takes you out of the loop, doesn't it?"

"Shut it, Dean, or I'm punching you again." He obediently shut up. "The Staff of Moses was stolen, wasn't it?" Ariel asked Castiel, who nodded, before adding for the Winchesters' sake, "After the Apocalypse, Heaven was a mess. During the chaos, someone made off with a bunch of our weapons."

"You're telling us your nukes are loose?" Dean asked, his eyebrows rising.

"I'm afraid so." Castiel's expression was grim. "But you've stumbled onto one of them. We must find the weapon that did this. We need your help."

Sam scoffed suddenly. "Yeah, that's rich."

Castiel huffed, tossing the jar to Ariel, who caught it instinctively. "Sam, Dean. My 'people skills' are 'rusty.' Pardon me, but I've spent the last 'year' as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. But believe me, you _do not_ want that weapon down here. Help us find it or more people will die."

Ariel couldn't help a grin at his use of air-quotes. He was really learning from her. "Nice overuse of air-quotes there, bro." She glanced at the jar in her hands, shuddering when she realized it was filled with live locusts. "Oh, _ew_." She automatically shoved the jar away from her and Sam caught it with a barely-suppressed smile at her reaction, setting the jar down safely on a table.

"What about you, Air? Your people skills rusty, too?" Dean shot her a teasing grin.

"Nah, dude, it's all good up in the hood." She gave him a thumbs-up and earned a strange look in response.

"Okay, new rule, never say that again." She grinned shamelessly. "Anyway, if the angels didn't pull the trigger, then that brings us back to motive."

"Right now, we got three dead cops. Only thing linking them is this." Sam picked up a newspaper clipping from the table, handing it to Ariel.

"'Father of slain suspect calls for investigation,'" Ariel read aloud, frowning. "And the three dead cops-"

"-were the ones to kill the kid, yeah," Sam finished for her.

"So the kid's father has the Staff," she concluded.

"It seems most likely," Castiel agreed.

"Awesome, let's go get your nuke back," Dean said mock-cheerfully and Ariel smirked.

"Have you missed angel-travel yet?" His smile faded into an expression of horror.

* * *

**I have no idea why this chapter refused to write itself. It just would _not_ come until I was staring at a blank document and my fingers just sort of started moving. At least we finally got into our version of Season 6, just in time (okay, three weeks late) for Season 9!**

**I'll try to get the rest of _The Third Man_ up before my workload sets in again and I am lost to you for another month or two, but I can't promise anything. Enjoy and please leave reviews! I'd love to hear any comments you've got!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter** **4**

* * *

They arrived in a suburban living room, Dean stumbling a little.

"Little warning next time," he grumbled.

"We _did_ warn you," Ariel reminded him, grinning at the familiar reaction.

"How'd you get in here?!" Oh, she'd forgotten to check if the owner of the house was home. One read of his soul with her Grace revealed his name to be Darryl Birch.

"Calm down, Mr. Birch," Sam said, having already recovered from the sudden transport as he pulled out his fake badge. "Federal agents."

"You can't just walk in here!" Darryl still protested.

"That's quite a collection you've got there," Sam noted, nodding to the clippings on the man's table and Ariel noticed that they were the same clippings the Winchesters had collected of the murdered policemen. "Look, we know the truth, all right? Chris didn't have a gun on him when those cops shot him. They set him up."

Darryl's expression was grim. "Yeah. They're all getting theirs."

"And who's giving it to them, Darryl?" Sam pressed accusingly.

"Did you kill Toby Gray and the others?" Dean finally cut in.

"Me?!" Darryl's eyes widened. "I didn't kill anyone! Look at how they died!"

"You smote them with the Staff of Moses," Castiel said tersely, earning a confused look from Darryl.

"The hell kind of Fed are you?"

"We don't have time for this," Castiel said irritably as Ariel frowned, reading a little further beyond the man's name. "Where is it?"

"He didn't do it," Ariel piped up suddenly, "He's innocent."

"Leave my dad alone!"

"_He_, however, is not," Ariel sighed, turning around to face the newcomer, a young boy barely in his preteens brandishing a stick. "That Staff is definitely not scaled to size."

"It's been sawed off," Castiel agreed with her.

"Leave him alone! It wasn't him!" the boy insisted.

"Aaron, get out of here!" Darryl insisted.

"Okay, okay, calm down with the drama here, no one's getting hurt," Ariel reassured him, holding her hands up and then snapping her fingers. Darryl collapsed onto his couch like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Aaron jerked, startled. "What did you just do to him?" he snapped accusingly.

"It's all right. He's just sleeping," Dean reassured him and Aaron pointed the Staff at him in response warningly. Within seconds, Castiel was behind the boy, snatching the Staff out of his hands.

"Easy, Cas," Ariel cautioned Castiel - what had gotten into him lately? - before turning to Aaron and kneeling down to his height. "Hey, I promise none of us are gonna hurt you, okay? We just need you to answer a couple of questions for us." Aaron sniffled a little, swiping his sleeve under his nose before nodding tentatively. "How did you get the Staff?"

"Please don't kill my dad. It was me. I did it," he blurted out, Ariel's kind tone doing nothing for his fear.

"Nobody's killing anybody. What's your name?" Dean interrupted, kneeling down beside her.

"Aaron. Aaron Birch," the boy said quietly at last.

"Okay, Aaron Birch, where did you get this?" Dean gestured to the Staff and Aaron hesitated.

"You won't believe me." He glanced nervously at Ariel before looking back at Dean.

"Try us," Dean answered.

Aaron bit his lip. "It was an angel." Dean and Sam automatically glanced at Ariel and Castiel, whose eyebrows both went up. "Those liars, they killed my brother, and nothing bad even happened to them. It's not fair. So I prayed to God every night he would punish them. God didn't answer. But _he_ did."

"Who did?" Ariel prompted. "Did he give you a name?"

Aaron shook his head. "He just said I could have justice, but I was gonna have to take it myself. And then he gave me the stick."

Dean looked disbelieving. "Come on. He didn't just _give_ it to you, did he, Aaron?"

Aaron answered, "I bought it."

Sam snorted abruptly. "With what? What's your allowance?" Ariel shot him a warning look and he subsided.

She turned back to Aaron. "What did you give him, Aaron?"

"My soul." The words seemed far too solemn to be coming from a child.

"You sold your soul to an angel?" Sam asked skeptically.

"That shouldn't even be possible," Ariel said, frowning as she got to her feet to glance at Castiel.

"It is. But it's certainly never happened before. That could explain why he cut the staff into pieces," he reasoned.

"More supply, more product," Ariel sighed.

"More 'product?'" Dean echoed, grimacing. "Who is this guy?"

"We'll find him." Castiel suddenly pressed two fingers to Aaron's forehead and the boy collapsed.

"Cas!" Ariel reprimanded.

"What did you do that for?" Dean demanded as Castiel easily slung Aaron over his shoulder.

"Portability." Within seconds, they were back in the motel room, Castiel dropping Aaron onto the bed unceremoniously.

"You realize you just kidnapped a kid," Dean pointed out, bewildered.

"If the angel we seek truly bought this boy's soul, when a claim is laid on a living soul, it leaves a mark, a brand." Castiel looked up, nonplussed as to why they were protesting so much.

"But that would mean reading Aaron's soul to find that angel's name," Ariel pointed out, frowning. "Not like the skimming I do, but deeper."

"Yes." Castiel blinked at her.

"But that would be painful for him," she added, wondering why he didn't seem to be getting it.

"Excruciating, yes. But it won't last long. And he's asleep, anyway."

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean said, sounding sickened. "He's a kid! Sam?" He turned to Sam for support and Ariel did, too, only to find that Sam's face was impassive.

"Any permanent damage?"

"Sam!" Ariel protested, surprised at his nonchalance.

"Physically, minimal," Castiel added, ignoring his sister completely.

"Oh, well, yeah, then by all means, stick your arm right in there," Dean said sarcastically.

"Dean! If I get the name, Ariel and I can work a ritual to track the angel down."

"There's gotta be some other way!" Dean protested.

"There isn't," Ariel admitted, "But I still don't like this method, either."

"So you're just gonna torture a kid, is that it?" Dean glanced at her before looking back at Castiel.

"I wish I could have the same moral doubts that you and Ariel seem to be suffering, but I don't have the luxury." Castiel's eyebrows were furrowed. "Let me do this. Please." He looked at Ariel now, seeking her permission.

Grimacing, she finally nodded, taking a seat near the head of the bed and placing a hand on Aaron's forehead, ready to dull his pain as soon as Castiel began. The younger angel rolled his sleeve up before unceremoniously shoving it into the spot between Aaron's ribcage and abdomen, his fist glowing red with power. Aaron screamed and Dean twitched at the sound even as Ariel hushed the boy, sending a soothing wave of Grace over him to dull his agony. Aaron calmed visibly as she worked to keep his pain at bay.

Castiel retracted his hand abruptly, his eyes wide, and Aaron settled back into unconsciousness as Ariel withdrew her Grace again, leaning back and breathing heavily. Using her Grace to hold back pain of that nature, soul-deep and powerful, was like forcing a mountain to move with little success - taxing and exhaustive.

"Did you get a name?" Sam prompted and even through her tired daze, Ariel could tell something was off by how dismissive he was of the suffering boy. That wasn't Sam's way.

"I thought he died in the war," Castiel said quietly at last, staring at his own hand pensively.

"Was he a friend or something?" Sam asked, frowning.

"A good friend."

"Yeah, well, your frat buddy is now moonlighting as a crossroads demon," Dean said crossly.

"Cas?" Ariel shifted upwards against the wall, peering at Castiel wearily. "Who was it?"

"Balthazar." Ariel's breath caught in her throat. She knew Balthazar almost as well as she'd know any of her fledglings. He had been one of Gabriel's, and they often shared their fledglings while raising them, a habit indicative of their twin nature.

"So we can find him now, right?" Sam's voice cut through her shock.

"Balthazar. Thanks, Castiel. We'll make good use of the name." At the unfamiliar voice, Ariel scrambled up to her feet, flicking her wrist to slide her archangel's blade into her waiting hand even as Castiel did the same, facing the new angel that had appeared in the room. Ariel recognized him as one of Raphael's lieutenants. He went for Castiel's throat first and Castiel tossed him aside easily, regaining his footing as he twisted his blade into an offensive position.

Ariel sent out another blast of Grace, shoving the Winchesters out of harm's way and against the wall just as the angel came after her next, catching her off-guard in her weakened state and pushing her up against the wall.

"And by the way, Raphael says hello," he sneered. She focused her energy into a telekinetic shove, sending him back towards the window as he threw his blade at her, catching her hand and knocking her archangel's blade to the floor. Wincing, she clutched at her bleeding hand, which shone with leaking Grace, as Castiel tackled the angel through the window.

Sam, Dean, and Ariel rushed to the window to see Castiel and the angel grappling in mid-air before they crashed headfirst into a car parked on the street below. The angel disappeared, leaving Castiel standing next to the wreckage of the car.

"My car," Sam croaked, horrified.

"Was that yours?" Ariel grinned up at him, too amused to feel sorry for him. He scowled at her and her smile only widened at the familiar bitchface.

"Silver lining," Dean agreed, amused, before seeing the blood dripping from Ariel's palm. "How's your hand?" He reached for her hand and she shook her head, quickly retracting it.

"Don't look at it directly, you'll hurt your eyes." She focused on dimming her Grace as much as possible so that neither Winchester would get an accidental glimpse of it. "It's not bad, it'll heal given a day or so. Do you have any bandages or something to wrap it up?" Dean nodded, heading over to his duffel bag to pull out the first-aid kit from it. He brought back a roll of bandages and she clumsily wrapped the bandages around her palm, wishing her dominant hand hadn't been the one to be injured. "Thanks."

Castiel appeared back in the motel room, brushing stray bits of glass off his shoulders. "He's gone, I couldn't track him," he told Ariel apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the last we saw of him," she reassured him as she went to collect her archangel's blade, placing it back in the sheath hidden in her sleeve.

"Okay, who the hell was that guy?" Dean demanded, clearly done with waiting patiently for answers.

"A soldier of Raphael. He must have followed us when we answered your call," Castiel answered.

"Raphael?" Dean's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you said things were okay in Heaven the last time we talked," he told Ariel accusingly.

"Yeah, and when was the last time we talked, a year ago?" Ariel shot back as Castiel went and collected a bowl from the cupboard on the other side of the room. "Things changed, okay? Not long after I stopped getting your prayers, in fact. There's been a total civil war up in Heaven between my side and Raphael's."

"A war?" Sam cut in at last, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Raphael wants another Apocalypse," Castiel explained wearily as he set up the bowl, collecting supplies from Sam's duffel bag as he went. "He wants to end the story the way it was written."

"Obviously we can't let that happen," Ariel added, sitting down on the edge of the bed as she watched Castiel work. "Given how much work we put in to stop the first one." Dean snorted with wry amusement.

"Which is why we have to find Balthazar and his weapons before Raphael does. Whoever has the weapons wins the war," Castiel reasoned.

"Oh, I was actually just gonna suggest we get him on our side," Ariel pointed out, "Since he's a good soldier and loyal, but yeah, the weapons work, too."

"If we can manage both, it's just as well," Castiel conceded, frowning at the bowl.

"Why does Raphael want to start the Apocalypse again, anyway?" Dean asked.

Not answering the question, Castiel said abruptly, "I need myrrh." He vanished and Ariel rolled her eyes.

"I could've just gotten the stuff for him," she grumbled.

"Maybe he wants you to save your strength," Dean said, peering at Ariel critically. "You _do_ look pretty wiped."

"I'm fine. Just a little too much Grace in a short time span," she dismissed absently, trying to ignore the niggling voice in the back of her head reminding her that she shouldn't have to feel so exhausted at all. Her Grace was plentiful and she shouldn't be so tired after a few bursts of energy. "I'll go take Aaron back to his house, you guys stick with Cas. Don't go anywhere until I get back." She took Aaron Birch's hand and vanished with him.

* * *

She settled the boy on his bed, stroking his hair gently before moving to get up.

"Hey," he rasped suddenly and she turned back to see him wide awake and peering at her. "Are you an angel, too? Like the one who took my soul?"

Her heart twisted at the reminder that Balthazar was selling and buying souls. "I'm an archangel," she admitted quietly.

"Which one?" Aaron squinted at her, clearly trying to suss out who she was.

"My name's Ariel."

"Never heard of you," he told her frankly and she cracked a smile.

"Most people haven't. I'm Gabriel's twin." Her throat was tight and she swallowed back the painful lump so that she could speak.

"Oh." Aaron continued to watch her, wide-eyed and curious, before smiling tentatively. "Thanks. I could tell you were keeping the pain back."

She smiled back at him warmly. "You're welcome. And I promise I'll get you your soul back, no debts or anything involved. Don't do something like sell it again, okay?" Sheepishly, Aaron nodded and she squeezed his shoulder. "Keep praying. Someone will be listening." With that, she disappeared and returned to the motel room to find that Castiel, Dean, and Sam were waiting expectantly around the table.

"About time," Dean snipped and Ariel rolled her eyes back at him.

"Hey, I needed to reassure the kid we'd get his soul back for him. Can we get on with the tracking spell?"

Castiel nodded as he arranged the myrrh he'd found. "As for why Raphael is bringing back the Apocalypse, he's a traditionalist."

"In every sense of the word," Ariel said wearily, absently rubbing her side where she could still feel the scar sometimes where Raphael had once slashed her. Archangel blades tended to leave more lasting injuries than a regular angel's blade did, even if both had the same initial impact.

Abruptly, Castiel grabbed Dean's hand and sliced his palm.

"Ow! Cas, what the hell?!" Dean demanded as Castiel turned the bloody gash towards the bowl.

"I needed human blood for the spell," the angel replied, hardly sounding apologetic as he added the myrrh and some holy water to the bowl, intoning quietly in Enochian. Ariel could feel the shift in energy as the spell worked to find Balthazar. "Got him. Let's go," Castiel said finally, breaking the spell off, and Ariel cleared the table with a snap of her fingers before taking a hold of Sam's sleeve as Castiel grasped Dean's arm.

Within seconds, they were standing outside a large mansion, crickets chirping somewhere across the spacious grounds.

"Huh. I was expecting more Dr. No, less Liberace," Dean snarked half-heartedly, wide-eyed as he surveyed the mansion. They all made their way inside and Ariel could see that the interior was just as lushly decorated as the outside.

"Split up," she ordered and both Winchesters started; she supposed they hadn't expected her to take charge since Castiel had been the one making the calls thus far. "Arrange a circle of holy oil near the door and we'll get him into it." She didn't plan to hurt Balthazar, but it would be easier to get answers if he couldn't fly away or attack them. Sam and Dean nodded obediently and went to set up the trap as Castiel and Ariel made their way up the stairs.

On the first landing, a croak echoed through the foyer when Ariel was about to put her foot down and she realized that she had almost stepped on a frog. Exchanging an alarmed look with Castiel, they teleported the rest of the way, walking down the hallway at the top of the stairs before stopping outside an ornate doorway, behind which blasted loud music. Ariel pushed the door open and went in first, quickly followed by Castiel.

The room was mostly empty save a large grand piano against the wall and strobe lights around the room. Abruptly, the door slammed shut behind them and both of them spun around, their blades flicking into their hands.

"Cas, Ariel." Balthazar smiled beatifically. "You're here."

* * *

**Yes, I really am ending it here. But look, my second favorite angel showed up at last! (first being Gabriel, of course) I know I said I'd finish _The Third Man_ with this chapter, but this ending really kind of wrote itself. I'll try to have the last bit of this episode up before the end of the week (feel free to throw rotten fruit if I don't).**

**Enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter** **5**

* * *

"Balthazar," Castiel said quietly while Ariel merely remained where she was, hovering anxiously between remaining professional and throwing professionalism out the window to hug one of her brothers.

"It's so good to see you both." Balthazar inclined his head slightly, running a hand through his blond hair. "He told me you were floating around."

"'He?'" Ariel echoed, raising an eyebrow as she replaced her blade into the sheath on her wrist.

"I believe you've flown together." He nodded behind them and against her better instinct, she turned to see the angel who had attacked her and Castiel earlier on the floor, clearly dead. After a moment, a croaking noise came from his direction and a frog crawled out of his mouth before hopping away. Grimacing at the gruesome sight, Ariel turned back to Balthazar with a questioning look. "Oh, you know, the old frog in the throat." Balthazar snapped his fingers and the music let up, the lights turning on.

"Even_ I_ know that's a bad joke," Castiel deadpanned, his expression grim. "I grieved your death."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry about that, you know." Balthazar didn't look all that sorry. "I wanted them to think...you know, so they wouldn't come looking for me." He glanced at Ariel, his expression softening. "It's been a long time, sister."

She relaxed marginally, a tentative smile tugging at her lips. "Tell me about it." She crossed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Balthazar didn't hesitate to hug her back, clutching her like a lifeline and burying his face into her hair. "I've missed you," she murmured, squeezing him close briefly.

"And I you."

She pulled back slightly, punching his arm teasingly and earning a slight wince. "Since when have you been dead, by the way?"

"Oh, a couple years now." He definitely looked a little guilty now, much like he often used to whenever Ariel would scold him and Gabriel after the two pulled off a successful prank. "I heard about your return, though. I'm sorry I wasn't there to welcome you back home."

"I'm just glad you're all right," she reassured him, earning a warm smile in return as he kissed her forehead affectionately.

Castiel, though, was not so ready to forgive. "What is all this? What are you doing?"

"Whatever I want." Balthazar's pale blue eyes flicked up to Castiel over Ariel's head as she released him and took a step back. "This morning I had a ménage à..." He frowned thoughtfully. "What's the word for twelve?"

Ariel rolled her eyes. "Dude. Seriously?"

He shrugged back at her. "You can't blame a man for wanting to have a good time."

"You stole the Staff of Moses," Castiel accused and Balthazar smirked.

"Sure, sure. I stole a _lot_ of things."

"You were a great and honorable soldier. We fought together," Castiel protested.

"Yes, too many times to count," Balthazar said bitterly.

"We know you," Ariel said quickly, cutting into the clear tension between the two. "You're no common thief."

"Common? No." Balthazar gave her a wry smile. "Thief? Eh."

"We need your help," Castiel sighed at last, changing the topic.

"Oh, yes, I know. I've been hearing all about you both, and as far as I'm concerned...nothing's changed between us." Ariel's breath caught in her throat in surprise as Balthazar continued, "We're family. Of course I want to help you."

"Thank you," Castiel said even as Ariel threw her arms around Balthazar again in relief, earning a startled chuckle from the other angel. "We need the weapons."

Balthazar huffed in irritation. "Don't ask _that_."

"You knew we were going to," Ariel pointed out as she pulled back. "Why take them, anyway? Why did you run?"

"Because I _could_." The answer shocked both Ariel and Castiel into silence as they gaped at him. "What?" Balthazar smiled bitterly. "You two were the ones who made it possible, after all. What you did, stopping the big plan, the prize fight? You did more than rebel. You tore up the whole script and burned the pages for all of us. It's a new era. No rules, no destiny. Just complete and utter freedom."

"So, what, you waste it on ménages à douze?" Ariel raised an eyebrow.

"Douze, that's it!" When she glared at him in response, he sighed wearily. "Hey, screw it, right? Dad's not coming back." She flinched slightly at the reminder. "You might as well blow coke and jump on the bed. You proved to me we could do anything, so I'm trying _everything_. What difference does it make?"

"What diff-?" Castiel sputtered incredulously. "It's civil war up there! If we can beat Raphael, we can end this! Just give us the weapons."

Balthazar chuckled tiredly. "Do you know what's funny about you? You actually believe that you can stop the fighting."

"Of course we can," Ariel insisted, earning a miserable look from him.

"It'll never stop, Ariel. My advice? Grab something valuable and fake your own death."

"You've gone insane," Castiel said, looking disgusted, "Your little holiday is over. Raphael knows you're alive by now."

"Oh, Raphael can try me anytime. I'm armed." Balthazar's smile faded into something more sincere. "I really am sorry. All else aside, I'm really, really happy to see you both." He smiled slightly. "Even if _you've_ still got that stick up your arse-" He turned to Ariel. "And _you're_ still that naïve optimist."

She huffed slightly. "It's not a bad thing."

"I never said it was." Suddenly, lightning flashed outside the window and thunder rolled, causing all three of them to start. "Was that you?" Balthazar asked Ariel conversationally and she numbly shook her head, cold dread settling in her stomach. "Oh. Well, then, that would be my cue. Tell Raphael to bite me."

"Balthazar, _wait_-!" Before Ariel could finish her protest, though, he was gone.

"What do we do?" Castiel asked, looking at her as his impassive mask cracked slightly with fear at the next crash of thunder. Even as a grown angel, he was still afraid of storms, especially those caused by Raphael. She couldn't blame him; Raphael _had_ blown him up once.

"I-I don't know. We get Sam and Dean out of here and we run, I suppose." She ran a hand through her hair, agitated as she tried to analyze the situation. There was an angel coming up the stairs, and Raphael was just outside the mansion. "We're surrounded," she realized, "Angels all on the bottom floor, and Raphael himself is here."

Castiel swallowed, his angel blade flicking into his hand automatically, and she pulled out her blade, too. "Then we have no choice but to fight our way out." She nodded with a grimace; she didn't want to fight if she could help it, but it looked like they didn't have any other option. The doors slammed open then, an angel storming in with his blade drawn.

"Wait," Ariel pleaded quickly, backing up as Castiel did the same beside her. "Wait, just listen, please, we don't want to fight."

"You're making a mistake, there's another way," Castiel added desperately, "Brother, please, we don't want to hurt you." As the angel advanced, his expression screwed up in despair even as he threw his blade forward. It embedded itself in the angel's chest and Ariel shut her eyes as he screamed, his Grace exploding outwards as he died. "Why won't any of you _listen_?" Castiel demanded wearily.

"They don't listen, Castiel, because their hearts are mine." Ariel spun around to see Raphael standing behind her, his expression cold as he threw out his hand. Castiel was flung backwards, out the open doors and onto the edge of the stairs. "This has been long overdue, Ariel." Before she could bring up her blade to defend herself, Raphael punched her hard, sending her sprawling to the floor, her archangel blade skittering out of her grasp across the floor. He stalked past her as she groaned, wiping blood from her lip, and advanced on a stirring Castiel.

"Cas!" Ariel scrambled to her feet even as Raphael pulled Castiel up by his hair to punch him in the face several times before throwing him down the flight of stairs. Castiel collapsed on the landing, moaning weakly. Ariel stumbled forward and down the stairs even as Raphael descended down to the landing to kick Castiel down the remaining steps. "Get away from him!" Without thinking, Ariel tackled Raphael, catching him off-guard as they both tumbled down the steps to land beside Castiel.

With an angry growl, Raphael tossed Ariel off him, slamming her against the wall as Castiel attempted to get to his feet, groaning slightly with each movement. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Oh, but then we wouldn't be having this lovely family reunion," she retorted half-heartedly, grimacing as she tasted more blood. She must have bitten her tongue in the fall.

"Are you _joking_?" He slammed her head back against the wall, cracking the plaster and earning a cry of pain from her.

"Leave her alone." Raphael looked over his shoulder at Castiel, who was wavering slightly on his feet, before carelessly shoving Ariel to the floor and knocking Castiel down with one punch to the face. He raised his blade, aiming for Castiel's throat.

"Somehow, I don't think God will be bringing you back this time," he sneered.

"Cas-!" Ariel tried desperately to get to him in time, but her head was still spinning from Raphael's attack and she could barely get to her feet, only able to watch helplessly as Raphael began to swing his blade downwards, her heart hammering wildly in her throat.

"Hey!" She froze, as did Raphael, his cold eyes turning to the source of the shout. "Look at my junk." Balthazar held up a glowing crystal, grinning.

Ariel's eyes widened even as Raphael roared in rage, "No!" Even as he spoke, Ariel watched as his dark skin was replaced by pure white salt, his vessel soon disintegrating into a pile of the stuff on the floor.

Chuckling, Balthazar tucked the stone away. "Same thing happened to Lot's wife. Iodize the poor sucker, and your kitchen is stocked for life."

"You came back," Castiel rasped, struggling to his feet as Ariel slumped back against the wall, relieved as she rubbed the back of her aching head.

"Well, now Raphael will have to go shopping for a new vessel. Should give me a nice long head start on him. Until next time." Balthazar inclined his head in farewell, preparing to leave.

"Next time," Ariel echoed and he turned to look at her, frowning in confusion at the grim expression on her face.

"No time like the present," Dean's voice abruptly cut in as the elder Winchester threw a lighter to the floor. A circle of holy fire sprang up, trapping Balthazar within its confines.

"Holy fire. You hairless ape! Release me!" Balthazar snapped, his expression twisting in anger.

"First you're taking your marker off of Aaron Birch's soul!" Dean shouted back.

"Am I?!" Balthazar's lips curved into a cruel smirk despite his furious tone.

"Unless you like your wings extra crispy, I'd think about it," Sam added as he stepped into the room, uncorking a bottle of holy oil.

"Ariel. Castiel." Balthazar whirled around to face his siblings, eyes wide. "I stood for you both in Heaven. Are you really going to let-?"

"I believe the hairless ape has the floor," Castiel cut in calmly. Ariel kept her expression blank so that Balthazar would know not to expect sympathy from her.

Balthazar scowled. "Very well." He clasped his hands and pressed them to his forehead before exhaling. "The boy's debt is cleared. His soul is his own."

"Why're you buying up human souls, anyway?" Dean demanded.

"In this economy? It's probably the only thing worth buying." Balthazar rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea what souls are worth? What power they hold? Now release me."

"Suck it, ass clown. Nobody said anything-" Dean broke off as Ariel snapped her fingers, the holy fire dimming before it vanished entirely. "Air!" he protested, stretching the nickname out for all it was worth as his tone took on a whining edge of complaint.

"Our debt's cleared to you," Ariel said to Balthazar, ignoring the hunter.

"Fair enough," Balthazar conceded before disappearing promptly.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Dean snapped even as Castiel vanished. He started before scowling at Ariel warningly. "Don't you dare go, too."

She held up her hands in surrender. "It's just that he's our brother, too, Dean. And we did owe him for saving us from Raphael. I trust him."

"He bought a kid's soul," he pointed out before turning to Sam. "You can't tell me that's not a little skeevy."

Sam looked deep in thought. "You trust him?" he asked Ariel, who nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then I get it." At Dean's incredulous look, he sighed. "Look, Ariel knows her brothers. And at this point, I'm pretty sure anyone on her side is better than nobody. Right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, exactly." Sam nodded before leaving the mansion entirely, Dean watching his retreating back warily.

"Does he seem a little off to you?" he asked, looking back at Ariel only to find that she was gone. "Friggin' angels," he grumbled as he shook his head, turning to follow Sam.

* * *

**-munching on Skittles meant for trick-or-treaters- And that concludes _The Third Man_, just in time for Halloween! (well, it's nearly the end of Halloween, but details)**

**Ariel and Balthazar do have a lot of history, just like Castiel and Balthazar do, and I'll definitely try to explore that in future chapters, provided my Balthazar muse cooperates.**

**Balthy!muse: NEVER. -steals Skittles and runs away-**

**-sigh- And here I thought once Gabriel's muse died, the candy-stealing would end with him. Oh, well. Enjoy, everyone, and happy Halloween!**


End file.
